imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
Hi all,
Curious about hand sharpening routines that folks have out there, mainly for bars in the 36"+ range since with smaller bars you don't really need to be efficient all that much anyway. Smaller bars i do in my lap with the saw pointing to the sky.
what i usually do is sharpen the chain on the saw. I clamp the saw handle to a plank of wood on some saw horses, and then with a few clamps and bits of wood i clamp the tip of the bar so it cant move around. I put a dab of red grease on the top of one tooth so i know when I've gone full circle. Then i crack a beer ;-)
I start on one side of the bar. From that side I'll do every other cutter which can be filed towards the tip of the saw. While its possible to do both left hand and right hand cutters from one side, it would mean i'd have to file some of the cutters back in the direction of the saw which i dont do.
I file at 15 degrees, by eye. I file by hand and dont use a guide. Ive tried a few but i really don't like them. I twist my file as i slide the file through, and the strain of the file is pushed back *into* the cutter, not down on the bar. I hold the file in my right hand and hold the tip of the file in my left hand with 2 fingers to give me better angle and pressure control. I keep the file level on the horizontal, no drop or rise. I figure if i had rise the top corner of the cutter would get thin and week, and i cant see any advantage to going the other way either. I tap out my file every couple of strokes, and after each sharpening i blow the file out because bar oil makes filings stick to it.
I usually do 1 stroke on every tooth for a touch up, 2 strokes on the tooth plus one light stroke on the raker if its really blunt, or 3 strokes on the tooth plus one medium stroke on the raker for heavy wear. Im always surprised by how many guys never touch their rakers, ever! I decide on 1,2, or 3 strokes depending on what gets 95% of the cutters good again. If one or two cutters don't come good, i leave them. I would rather have a balanced chain with the same number of strokes on each cutter and one or two not quite sharp teeth than file every cutter an extra stroke or two (and have extra wear just to get that one or two teeth good) or put extra strokes on the one or two bad teeth and have them slightly shorter than the rest. I figure i get good balance and life out of a chain this way, and i can always get that tooth on the next sharpen.
I use a home made metal guard over the cutter to protect it while i file the raker, I don't think FOP's are aggressive enough for big saws. My raker depth is decided by eye and i might skip it if the raker looks good, but i find 1 stroke on th raker for every 2~3 on the cutter is close to right. every 3rd or 4th sharpening I'll skip filing the rakers.
I do a full run of teeth from one side, then a full run of rakers from the same side. Then i go to the other side of the saw and do a full run of the opposite teeth, then a full run of rakers from the same side. I unlock the chain break and slide the chain forward to an unsharpened section and go again. This way i do one full bar length from the right, then move to the left of the saw and do one full bar from left, move chain forward and another full bar from left, then move to right of saw and do one full bar from right, move chain forward, another full bar from right, then move left and one bar from left.
This means i move around the saw 3 times (Start from right, then left, right, left). 3 rotations of the chain gets me a full sharpen no matter how big the bar is, it takes me about a minute a side to do cutters and rakers, so a 36" bar takes about 6 or 7 minutes for cutters and rakers i guess. I keep my chains well out of the dirt, but all bets are off for rocked chains.
After this i remove the chain cover, blow everything out, dab of grease on the clutch bearing, blow out my file, refit cover, adjust tension, blow out air filter then grab another beer and move on to the next saw.
Would love to hear input from other guys on their hand sharpening routines, especially anything that improves efficiency, accuracy or any little useful tips and tricks you use while sharpening or servicing your saw during sharpening.
would be really good to hear from everyone about their setup - bar size, clamped or not, how often, how many strokes per cutter, how often they do their rakers, cutting conditions.
Shaun
Curious about hand sharpening routines that folks have out there, mainly for bars in the 36"+ range since with smaller bars you don't really need to be efficient all that much anyway. Smaller bars i do in my lap with the saw pointing to the sky.
what i usually do is sharpen the chain on the saw. I clamp the saw handle to a plank of wood on some saw horses, and then with a few clamps and bits of wood i clamp the tip of the bar so it cant move around. I put a dab of red grease on the top of one tooth so i know when I've gone full circle. Then i crack a beer ;-)
I start on one side of the bar. From that side I'll do every other cutter which can be filed towards the tip of the saw. While its possible to do both left hand and right hand cutters from one side, it would mean i'd have to file some of the cutters back in the direction of the saw which i dont do.
I file at 15 degrees, by eye. I file by hand and dont use a guide. Ive tried a few but i really don't like them. I twist my file as i slide the file through, and the strain of the file is pushed back *into* the cutter, not down on the bar. I hold the file in my right hand and hold the tip of the file in my left hand with 2 fingers to give me better angle and pressure control. I keep the file level on the horizontal, no drop or rise. I figure if i had rise the top corner of the cutter would get thin and week, and i cant see any advantage to going the other way either. I tap out my file every couple of strokes, and after each sharpening i blow the file out because bar oil makes filings stick to it.
I usually do 1 stroke on every tooth for a touch up, 2 strokes on the tooth plus one light stroke on the raker if its really blunt, or 3 strokes on the tooth plus one medium stroke on the raker for heavy wear. Im always surprised by how many guys never touch their rakers, ever! I decide on 1,2, or 3 strokes depending on what gets 95% of the cutters good again. If one or two cutters don't come good, i leave them. I would rather have a balanced chain with the same number of strokes on each cutter and one or two not quite sharp teeth than file every cutter an extra stroke or two (and have extra wear just to get that one or two teeth good) or put extra strokes on the one or two bad teeth and have them slightly shorter than the rest. I figure i get good balance and life out of a chain this way, and i can always get that tooth on the next sharpen.
I use a home made metal guard over the cutter to protect it while i file the raker, I don't think FOP's are aggressive enough for big saws. My raker depth is decided by eye and i might skip it if the raker looks good, but i find 1 stroke on th raker for every 2~3 on the cutter is close to right. every 3rd or 4th sharpening I'll skip filing the rakers.
I do a full run of teeth from one side, then a full run of rakers from the same side. Then i go to the other side of the saw and do a full run of the opposite teeth, then a full run of rakers from the same side. I unlock the chain break and slide the chain forward to an unsharpened section and go again. This way i do one full bar length from the right, then move to the left of the saw and do one full bar from left, move chain forward and another full bar from left, then move to right of saw and do one full bar from right, move chain forward, another full bar from right, then move left and one bar from left.
This means i move around the saw 3 times (Start from right, then left, right, left). 3 rotations of the chain gets me a full sharpen no matter how big the bar is, it takes me about a minute a side to do cutters and rakers, so a 36" bar takes about 6 or 7 minutes for cutters and rakers i guess. I keep my chains well out of the dirt, but all bets are off for rocked chains.
After this i remove the chain cover, blow everything out, dab of grease on the clutch bearing, blow out my file, refit cover, adjust tension, blow out air filter then grab another beer and move on to the next saw.
Would love to hear input from other guys on their hand sharpening routines, especially anything that improves efficiency, accuracy or any little useful tips and tricks you use while sharpening or servicing your saw during sharpening.
would be really good to hear from everyone about their setup - bar size, clamped or not, how often, how many strokes per cutter, how often they do their rakers, cutting conditions.
Shaun
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